


Defiance

by klaviergavout



Category: Starlight Express - Phillips/Stilgoe/Webber
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Gen, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, and greaseball actually doesn't cheat that much and is a pretty decent guy, but only for NOW..., cb's only crashed a couple trains at this point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 22:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12443013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klaviergavout/pseuds/klaviergavout
Summary: Greaseball confronts CB about the fact that he's been causing crashes early on.He doesn't expect to be given a reason.





	Defiance

Greaseball forces his way through the crowd in an attempt to get a closer look at the crash, far too preoccupied to care who he collides with in the process, shoving engines and carriages alike to get to the front. It's horrific- a diesel engine like himself, much smaller and younger than he is, lying utterly broken and oil-stained on the tracks; alongside him, two larger engines, coughing and spluttering, their own share of injuries equally as prevalent. Behind them still stands CB, slight dents marking his chassis, staring as pitifully upon the whole scene as the crowd of onlookers Greaseball's just pushed aside.

_**ENGINES RETURN TO STATIONS! ENGINES RETURN TO STATIONS!** _

Greaseball's head jerks upward on instinct, the murmurs of the crowd hushed completely by the voice from above. Control's anger only serves to further fuel his own, and as the other engines begin to dissipate from the crash site, he surges forward and grabs CB by the arm.

"What the--"

Before CB can even properly react, Greaseball is dragging him towards the railyard at terminal speed. Once they're by the entrance he takes a sharp right- CB almost losing his balance and falling off the tracks in the process- and turns them both into a nearby shed, shutting the doors behind them.

"You _have_ to stop doing this."

"Doing _what?_ " CB is frustrated now, too, his usually impassive face twisted into a scowl. He tries to escape the confrontation, reaching blindly for the door handle, but Greaseball blocks his path. "Leave me alone, GB--"

"I'm not gonna leave you alone until you tell me why you're crashing us."

CB's face morphs again, eyes wide and glazed, his lip quivering. "I don't know what you mean," he says cooly, trying yet again to reach the handle, but one look at Greaseball's unwavering glare and he hides his hand away.

"I saw you, CB, I watched the race! You didn't brake _once._ " Greaseball crosses his arms, straightening himself up so that he's almost twice the caboose's height. "Sure, everyone cheats sometimes, but no one around here's stupid enough to crash anyone, 'specially not someone on their team, and ' _specially_ not more than once. Give me one reason I shouldn't go tell the marshal you're tryna kill off our engines."

At the mention of the marshal CB blanched, grasping onto Greaseball's shoulders with a vehement shake of his head. "Greaseball, _please,_ don't get me caught. I'm doing this for _us."_

"For _us?"_ Greaseball wants to shove CB off, leave him to his comeuppance and do what's right for the rest of the engines, but the caboose looks such a pitiful mess at this point that he can hardly move a finger. "How is this for _us?_ "

"For _all_ of us," CB corrects him, curling his fingers tighter into Greaseball's shoulders. "Don't you hate being controlled? Don't you hate doing what Control says all the time? Don't you want to be your own person?"

It takes a moment for Greaseball to catch on to what CB means. "Well-- well, yeah, I do, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hurt other people just to upset some kid in the sky."

"Is that all he is to you? _'Some kid in the sky?'_ "

Greaseball has to stop, has to think about this. He's never seen Control, he's only ever heard his voice, but he can't recall one moment where Control's praised anyone other than him. Over time, winning the races became less of something he wanted to do for pride, and more an expectation; he couldn't let his kid down. Cheating was only something he'd started to do quite recently, because Control had been bringing in more fierce opposition- but his motives for that, now, were questionable.

What if cheating was Control's idea all along?

What if Control had simply wanted to make sure he'd win, no matter what?

Everything he'd said, everything he'd done, what was _real?_

Greaseball feels sick to his stomach. He bows his head, running a hand through his hair, and CB reaches one hand up to tuck some stray black hairs behind his ear. Greaseball makes no move to stop him.

"If the others understood me, they'd be glad I'm doing this," CB begins with a shaky sigh, sliding his hand down to cup Greaseball's cheek, "but they don't. You're the only one who understands, GB. You can't get me caught, not now."

The idea of allowing this to continue only serves to increase his nausea, but Greaseball concludes that CB's right- more than anything, he wants to be his own person. He _thought_ he was able to be his own person anyways, but now, he's been forced to rethink that idea.

"I won't tell." He swallows hard. "I promise."

CB beams, a strange, superficial-looking grin breaking out onto his face, before he surges forward and kisses Greaseball square on the lips. It's nothing overtly romantic- just a quick, short touch before CB pulls away, heading towards the door again- but Greaseball feels himself blushing hard from embarrassment, frustration from earlier beginning to resurface.

"Now, hold on just a second--"

"10-3, GB, see you soon!"

Greaseball doesn't know whether to feel relieved that CB was back to his usual pleasant attitude, or concerned that he's just been kissed by someone he barely knows- for no apparent reason, no less. But from that point on, he thinks, as he skates through the doors of the shed and out of sight, they have an unbreakable pact.

That, in itself, is something Control can never change.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I've had a very interesting week with Starlight Express, to say the least! I started out disliking it, and then thinking a lot about how great of a character CB is, and now I've come around completely to everyone in the show (and the vast majority of the songs) and have started writing fanfiction about it. I just love these characters so much.
> 
> Anyways, this was based partly on a theory I had when trying to figure out some possible motives for CB's behaviour- what if he began causing these crashes just to ruin things for Control?- and partly on the fact that CB and Greaseball make an interesting duo, as both friends and (possible) lovers.


End file.
